How the G20 successfully pulled the global economy out of 2008’s global financial crisis?

Fear and panic gripped the global financial system after the fall of the Wall Street bank Lehman Brothers. The US president George W. Bush had to invite the G20 leaders to co-ordinate a quick and powerful response to the economic slowdown.

The meeting that took place in the Washington and the massive stimulus package that was announced thereafter helped in managing the global financial crisis and restoring stability to the financial system.

Before playing a prominent role in keeping the world away from the economic brink, the G20 was just a meeting of financial ministers and central bank governments of G20 economies, which comprise Australia, Argentina, India, China, US, Britain, Brazil, Canada, France, Germany, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, South Korea, Turkey, and the EU. However, the way it brought the world’s most powerful economies together and managed the crisis helped the G20 make its own identity in the global platform. The first G20 summit was held in 2008.

Now that the world has somewhat recovered from the pains of slowdown, the G20 leaders have gradually been shifting their attention towards global economic development, promoting and encouraging private sector, and employment generation for the youth. To achieve their stated purpose, the leaders meet annually in a G20 Summit, wherein, among other recommendations, they examine those put forward by the B20, which is an international group of the top business leaders from the G20 nations.

The G20 and the B20 have a rotating Presidency which means that a different country hosts the G20 Summit each year and different leaders take charge of the process. Orbiting around the G20 are a number of permanent bodies which play an advocacy role and also help with the implementation of G20 policies.

One of these permanent bodies is the B20 Coalition, which advocates the interests of 6.7 million-plus small, medium and large companies. It operates as a worldwide platform of exchanges between national business communities, and aims at building consensus and developing common positions on critical issues for enterprises.

The G20 economies account for about 84 per cent of global gross domestic product, 79 per cent of all trade and two-thirds of the world's population. And although the world has become a better place than it was in and around 2008, the group still has many tasks to perform, primarily securing a sustained economic growth and job creation for the youth, even in the remotest parts of the world. The group has done commendable job in all these years, and it is well on its way to make the world a better place to live in and grow.

The Group of Twenty has strongly risen on the global platform after its successful handling of the financial slowdown in 2008. For more on G20, G20 Summit, or G20 Summit News, please read our other articles.